Equipment for manufacturing printed matter

ABSTRACT

Individual, relatively small sheets bearing different characters are removably disposed in superposed relation in multiple replenishable piles thereof in at least one character-selector board provided with an index to the characters to facilitate locating and readily removing each small sheet bearing a selected character from a specific pile thereof in said board. A plurality of composition strips receive the small sheets of selected characters removed from said board to form on such strips words, sentences and paragraphs made up from said small sheets of selected characters. Enlarging or reducing platemaking cameras photograph said made up composition strips and prepare paper plates therefrom for introduction into an offset printing press to afford the end product of printed matter which may serve as copy for newspapers, magazines, catalogues and the like.

Shew

[76] Inventor: David Sun Shew, 19 Olive Ave.,

Larkspur, Calif. 94939 [22] Filed: Apr. 24, 1972 1211 Appl. No.: 246,708

[52] US. Cl 354/292, 96/41, 96/43 [51] Int. Cl. G03b 15/00 [58] Field of Search 95/85; 276/44, 45; 96/43, 96/41 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,469,385 10/1923 Fleming 276/44 2,477,514 7/1949 Flood 276/45 2,539,609 l/l951 Buckingham 96/43 2,576,573 11/1951 Clark 95/85 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,065,020 4/1967 Great Britain 96/85 United States Patent 1191 EQUIPMENT FOR MANUFACTURING PRINTED MATTER 1451 July 16, 1974 Primary Examiner-David Klein Attorney, Agent, or FirmFlehr, Hohbach, Test, Albritton & Herbert i [57] ABSTRACT Individual, relatively small sheets bearing different characters are removably disposed in superposed rela tion in multiple replenishable piles thereof in at least one character-selector board provided with an index to the characters to facilitate locating and readily removing each small sheet bearing a selected character from a specific pile thereof in said board. A plurality of composition strips receive the small sheets of selected characters removed from said board to form on such strips words, sentences and paragraphs made up from said small sheets of selected characters. Enlarging or reducing platemaking cameras photograph said made up composition strips and prepare paper plates therefrom for introduction into an offset printing press to afford the end product of printed matter which may serve as copy for newspapers, magazines, catalogues and the like.

2 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTED JUL X 5 i974 SHEEI 2 BF 3 LJLILJLJLJLIfi VEDUIIIE IDESCIC I ATTORNEY DAV/D 5 SHEW' PATENTEU 1 5 I974 SHEET 3 OF 3 //VVE/VTOR DAV/D 5. SHE W BY W ATTORNEY EQUIPMENT FOR The invention, in general, relates tothe printing art and more particularly relates to the production of offset paper plates from camera-reproduced composition as the Arabic and Nordic languages, and others, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will hereinafter describe the invention in respect to the manufacture of Chinesecopy suitable for the production of Chinese newspapers, magazines, advertising material, cataloguesand the like.

It is, of course, well knownthat the Chinese people were the first to provide, or'the first inventors of, printing, as well as the inventors of paper and movable type which made newspaper publishing possible, and that the -worlds first daily newspaper was published in China in the Tang Dynasty, sometime between 618 and 906 AD. At a recent Seminar held in Hong Kong in September 1966, known as The Chinese Language Press Seminar sponsored'by The lntemational Press Institute, it was pointed out that despite current experiments themechanization of type-setting remains the most intriguing and at the same time the most stubborn problem for the Chinese; this being due to the fact that the Chinese language is written inideograms instead of alphabets. The hereinafter described and claimed invention obviates all of the difficulties heretofore encountered in attempts to solve probably the most serious problems of printing Chinese newspapers and other printed matter, such as the setting of type by hand; the

necessity of making foundry'type of different sizes; and the requirement of providing large spaces for the storage of the multiplicity of different sizes of foundry type heretofore andv now employed in the hand-setting of type. Of course, similar problems in the setting of type in other languages are likewise obviated in practicing the methodv and using the equipment of the present invention.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A still further object of my present invention is to provide an improved method of the aforementioned character which enables the dissemination of news and advertising and other copy to millions of persons not heretofore reached therewith.

Another object of the invention is to provide equipment of an improved-nature for manufacturing copy at an appreciably rapid rate and at an appreciably lower cost.

' Other objects of the invention, together with some of the advantageous features thereof, will appear from the following description of a preferred method of and preferred equipment for manufacturing printed matter which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that I amnot to be limited to the precise steps of the method set forth, nor to the precise order of such steps, nor to the precise equipment or arrangement thereof, as illustrated in the drawings.

In itspreferred mode, my improved method of manufacturing printed matter preferably comprisesthe steps of delineating in ink upon a sheet of indeterminate dimensions a plurality of rows and columns of characters including numerals; punching out from said sheet individual squares bearing on at least one side thereof one of the delineated characters; assembling said squares in superposed relation and in multiple arrangement; removing one square from any selected superposed arrangement thereof and placing said removed square in a channeled row with other selected squares; then'preparing a paper plate of a plurality of rows of said squares in said channeled rowsby'photographing an assembly of said channeled rows of individual characterdelineated squares with a plate-making camera; and finally affixing aplurality of the camera-prepared paper plates in selected arrangement upon a sheet of suitable dimensions for receiving said plurality of paper plates.

In its preferred form, the equipment of my present invention for manufacturing printed matter preferably comprises a sheet delineated in rows and columns with inked characters, a multi-punch machine, means associated with said punch machine for feeding said sheet thereto, means for actuating the punches of said machine upon placement of said sheet in underlying relationship thereto, a plurality of containers disposed under said punches for receiving individual characterdelineated squares punched from said sheet, a selector board for holding said containers with said characterdelineated squares in superposed relation therein, means for lifting individual squares selectively from said containers, a frame for holding composition channels, a plurality of composition channels each containing a row of selected squares removably disposed in said frame, and an enlarging and reducing plate-making camera for producing paper plates of said channels on said frame and provide copy for dissemination in the form of a display or with other reproduced plates in the form of a newspaper of varied delineated characters removed from said individual containers disposed in said selector board.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a selector board of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary view of one corner portion of the selector board of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view in the direction of the arrows 6-6 of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary, Schematic view of a portion of theselector board, a character-lifting probe or pickup device, and composition strip useful in the pres- DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In accordance with my present invention, I provide a sheet 11 of indeterminate dimensions upon which I delineate by means of suitable ink a plurality of characters 12, allarranged on said sheet in spaced relationship to one another andin rows and columns, as clearly illustrated in FIG. 1 of the annexed drawings'lt is to be understood that a multiplicity of sheets 11 can be prepared to the extend desired and it also is to be understood that thecharacters delineated upon each sheet 11 can be all the same character in each row and each column, or a plurality of different characters can be-delineated in the various rows and columns of each sheet 11. Moreover, when I refer to characters, such term may includenot only numerals but also upper case and lower case characters including largeand small numer- FIG. 7 but showing another form als. That is to say, while 'I have. illustrated the character 12 in FIG. 1 as denoting, a Chinese ideogramyother Chinese characters as designated by the reference numeral and character 12a or 12b in FIG. 10 of the drawings may be delineated on sheet 11. Also, if it be assumed that the English alphabet were to be delineated on sheets 11, it would be withinthe purview of the present invention to delineate first a row of capital A, then a row of capital B, then a row of capital C etc., throughout the sheet, or for that matter first a row of lower case a, then a row of lower case b, then a row of lower case c etc. throughout the sheet 11. Similarly, the sheets 11 can be delineated with reference charactersof any language desired to be reproduced in accordance with my improved method in distributable copy. The purpose of sheet 11 is to provide a more or less continuous supply of characters for utilization in the making up of copy' by the hereinafter described method and equipment.

After each sheet 11 has been delineated with the desired character or characters or numerals, as the case may be, each of the character-delineated sheets 11 is fed into, either manually or by power driven feed means, a conventional multi-punch machine illustrated schematically in FIGS. 2 and 10 of the drawingsand designated generally by the reference numeral 13. The

several punches 14 of the-punch machine may be Caused to operate sequentially, or in series, as the paper sheet 11 is advancedthrough the punch area so that individual squares 14 maybe serially punched out of the character-delineated sheet 11. The paper sheet 11 is properly aligned by suitable aligning or guide means, not shown, so that if the entire sheet 11 were to be positioned under the several punches 14 prior to a punch operation, the latter could follow with all punches simultaneously dropping down to punch out all of the delineated characters from sheet 11 on one stroke, and the punched out sheet, designated 11a in FIG. 10 of the drawings, is advanced or moved out of the punching machine and discarded. The punched out characters punched out from sheets 11 afford a multiplicity of paper squares 16 which, in the present embodiment of my invention, are 10/30 of an inch on each side but, of course,' the dimensions of the paper squares16 having the delineatedcharacters 12 thereon are not critical. In accordance with my invention, a plurality of relatively small containers 17 are provided for receiving and retaining the punched out, character-delineated paper squares l6 and, of course, such'containers are of square cross-section of slightly larger size than the dimensions of the-paper squares 16 per se. Thus the ther manually or by automatic power-driven means to positions within the punching machine 13 and brought to rest in alignment with the rows of characterdelineated squares 16 on sheets 11. Accordingly, when each of the punches 14 is caused to punch outa square 16 from paper sheet 11, the paper squareswill drop by force of gravity into the containers 1.7 below. Upon filling the containers, which are-presently of a capacity of approximately 100 squares 16 each, the containers are moved out of' the punching machine 13 and taken to storage for future use.. p

In FIG. 4 of the annexed drawings, I have illustrated another component of the invention which I have termed a selector board, designated generally by the reference numeral 18, of which at least one is provided in the preferredembodiment of the improved equipment. Asshown, the selector board is supported on an incline upon a suitable table or desk 19 and removably receives uncapped containers 17 filled with characterdelineated paper squares 16 with the delineated characters 12 presented to the top of the squares. Each selector board 18 upon receiving the containers 17 is compartmentized or divided into a plurality of rows and columns, and is, so filled that the characterdelineated squares 16 disposed in rows and columns at delineated squares bearing such indicia as capital letters, numerals, or capital prefixes and capital suffixes of any given language, such additional selector boards 18 can be disposed in drawers, in the table 19 below the illustrated board- 18 in FIG. 4, or upon contiguous desks or tables. It can be understood, accordingly,'that the makeup of each selector board 18, insofar as arrangement therein of the containers l7 filled with cha racter-delineated paper squares 16 is concerned,

- largely is within the discretion of the user of the .equipment of my invention who most certainly will arrange words.

I also provide as components of my equipment employed in the preferred method of practicing my invention at least one vacuum pickup device including a vacuum pump, not shown, for drawing a vacuum through a flexible conduit 21 having an enlargedhandle section 22 therein which is formed with a vent 23 open to the atmosphere. With the pump in operation, the user of the pickup device holds a thumb or finger of the hand over vent 23 until it is desired to pick up a paper square 16 from a given container 17. The operator of the vacuum pickup can thus select and pick up a plurality of character-delineated squares 16 from a plurality of different containers 17 in selection board 18, and can then transfer each paper square 16 so selected to at least one channel composition strip 24 to thus make up or compose a word, or a sentence, or part of a word or part of a sentence in each of the strips 24 of a plurality thereof which are carried in a suitable frame 26, as seen in FIG. of the drawings. After each of the channel composition strips 24 have servedtheir purpose, the individual character-delineated paper squares 16 can be discarded, as shown at 27 in FIG. 10, and the channel composition strip24 returned to its drawer for use again and again. The channel composition strips 24 are, as his observed from the showings in FIG. 10, all of the same width and length so that the makeup text is justified in every frame 26 carrying the strips'24.

In accordance with the present invention,'the next step in practicing my improved method of manufacturing printed material consists in employing a paper plate-making camera, which is designated generally by the reference numeral 31 and illustrated schematically in FIG. 10 of the annexed drawings. The camera 31 per se is not my invention but cameras of this type are commercially available upon the present market, such as the camera sometimes known as the Plate Master and marketed under the trademark ITEK" by Itek Business Products of 1001 Jefferson Road, Rochester, New York 14603. Any other camera of similar character for providing a complete paper plate suitable for offset printing may be employed, as desired. Cameras of this type are capable of automatically enlarging or reducing an image to the predetermined size of paper plate, desig'nated by the reference numeral 32, and illustrated schematically in FIG. 10 of the drawings, which may be desired by 'a user. The enlarged or reduced plate 32 can be pasted, along with other similar paper plates 32 each carrying text prepared on composition strips 24 of frame 26, onto a sheet 33 which subsequently is photographed by any conventional camera 34, and the print thereof comprises a page or part of a page or a series of pages of a newspaper or magazine or the like, prepared by any s uitable means, such as by passing the same through suitable inked rollers 36 and 37 of an offset press, not shown.

In FIG. 8 of the annexed drawings, I have illustrated a slight modification of the preferred embodiment of the equipment employed in the present method. In this modification I provide a pickup device for lifting the individual squares 16 from the containers 17 disposed in each selector board 18 which preferably comprises a short pencil-like instrument 25 on the functional end of which I affix a small amount of gum 25a or similar adhesive material. By slightly touching the uppermost character-delineated squares 16 with the gum 25a the square 16 will adhere thereto and'can be lifted, as de- 1 picted in FIG. 8, and moved into the channel composition strip 24. A slight force by means of a finger of the operators hand will effect removal of the picked up square 16 and disposition thereof in the channel composition strip along within other squares theretofore or thereafter disposed in the strip 24. The instrument 25 can be made of wood, metal or plastic material.

It is to be appreciated that as the individual'character-delineated squares 16 are used up or consumed in the various printed matter manufactured in accordance with the herein described invention, the supply thereof in storage can be repeatedly replenished by the delineation of additional desired or required characters uponadditional sheets of 11, and the individual squares l6 punched out of such sheets by the punching machine 13 and collected in the individual containers 17, as described.

Wherever possible, the components of theequipment illustrated and described are fabricated of a plastic material to maintain costs of manufacture of the printed material'at a minimum. The method can largely be practiced manually using only available machines or instruments where needed. t

It is to be understood that the plate-making camera 31 is equipped with a suitable filter so that the paper plate 32 produced'by the camera does not include the channel strips 24 nor the frame 26 or any portions or outlines thereof; the paper plate 32 merely containing the continuous rows of character-delineated squares.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for use in manufacturing printed matter comprising selector board means, a plurality of containers supported by said selector board means, each said container having a closed bottom and open only at the top thereof and having side walls having four corner portions defining a generally rectilinear outline of said container, a plurality of, separate planar-type paper elements loosely disposed in a superposed, stacked relationship within said container and supported by the bottom thereof, each type element being of generally rectilinear outline complementary to that of said container and having on at least one surface thereof a character suitable for photographing, said type elements being arranged in said container with the character thereon facing the open top portion and being visible therethrough, said selector board means including means for supporting said type containers in a predetermined order in rows and columns so that the open top portion of the containers are arranged with the type character therein exposed for viewing, and manually graspable, probe-like means for mechanically lifting discreet type elements from said containers through the open top thereof.

2. The apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said type elements are composed of paper squares and said containers with the type elements therein are arranged in said selector board in indexed relationship along said rows and columns. 

1. In apparatus for use in manufacturing printed matter comprising selector board means, a plurality of containers supported by said selector board means, each said container having a closed bottom and open only at the top thereof and having side walls having four corner portions defining a generally rectilinear outline of said container, a plurality of, separate planar-type paper elements loosely disposed in a superposed, stacked relationship within said container and supported by the bottom thereof, each type element being of generally rectilinear outline complementary to that of said container and having on at least one surface thereof a character suitable for photographing, said type elements being arranged in said container with the character thereon facing the open top portion and being visible therethrough, said selector board means including means for supporting said type containers in a predetermined order in rows and columns so that the open top portion of the containers are arranged with the type character therein exposed for viewing, and manually graspable, probe-like means for mechanically lifting discreet type elements from said containers through the open top thereof.
 2. The apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said type elements are composed of paper squares and said containers with the type elements therein are arranged in said selector board in indexed relationship along said rows and columns. 